Ironing machine



. Jan. 28, 1930. GQRDON 1,745,162

IRONING MACHINE Original Filed Aug. 7, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 James Qfirdom J. GORDON Jan. 28, 1930.

IRONING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug. 7, 1924 Jan 2%, 193%: J. GORDON IRONING MACHINE Original Fild Aug. 7, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet Jan. 28, 1930. J. GORDON 9 11 IRONING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Aug. '7, 1924 Patented" Jan. 28, 1930 JAMES GORDON, OF CHICAGO, ILL INOIS momma MACHINE Application filed August 7, 1924, Serial No. 730,588. Renewed June '26, 1929.

This invention relates to improvements in ironing machines or mangles, and has for its principal objects to provide a simple and durable construction of devices of the class described relatively light in weight and capable of being readily-portable, and having manually controlled means for actuating the ironing shoe by the power devices used to operate the roller. .Other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the description proceeds. j

The invention may best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which;

Fig. 1 is an end view of a machine constructed in accordance with my invention, viewed from the end opposite the operating mechanism thereof.

Fig. 2 is. a plan view of the machine shown the roller and shoe shown in Figures 1 and 2.

33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional'v'iew taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2. i

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on km 5-5 of. Fig. 4.

Fig. 6' is a sectional view taken 6-6 of Fig.2.

' Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views of parts of the clutch mechanism.

Referring now to details shown in the drawings, it will be observed that my improved form of machine is particularly designed to be supported upon a table which is relatively light so as to be readily transported from place to place. The main elements of the device comprise a gear housing 10 at one end of a roller 11, and a shoe 12 coacting with said rbller. The roller is of the usual drum type provided with a fabric cover 13 and having a shaft 14 journaled at one .end in bearings 15 and 16 formed in opposite sides of the gear housing 10, as'shown in Fig. 2. It will thus be 'seen that said roller is supported at one end only, said gear housing on line Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line.

having its outer end free as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. 1

The shoe 12 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 20 extending longitudinally under the roller. Said shoe comprises a hollow casing 21 having a pair of end plates 22 and a heating surface 23 curved to conform with the shape of the roller and movable toward and away from the latter when swung pivotally on the shaft '20. In the form shown, the end plates 22 are provided with brackets 24 rigidly connected on shaft 20, and the lattershaft is journaled for rocking movement in bearings 27 -27 extending downwardly from the gear housing 10. A heating element is mounted in the shoe casing 21, herein shown as comprising a gas burner 26 of the usual construction. 2

When in use, the device is adapted to be supported at the desired height on a table or the like, and to this end is provided with a plurality of bearing supports, preferably three in number, so as to readily accommodate itself to relatively uneven surfaces. As shown herein, these bearing supports comprise a leg 30 at the forward end of the gear housing 10, a leg 31 on the bottom of a motor support 32 extending downwardly and rearwardly from said gear housing, and a third leg 33 comprising a bracket loosely *mounted in pendant position on the shaft 20, preferably adjacent the end thereof as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The mechanism for operating the device will now be described. A motor 35 is mounted on the motor support 32 at the rear of the gear housing 10, and has its armature shaft 36 provided with a worm 37 engaging worm gear 38 loosely mounted on a stub shaft 39.. Said shaft has bearing in supports 40 and 41 at opposite ends of the housing 10 (Fig. 5). A spur pinion 42 is carried by the worm gear 38 and is meshed with a gear 43 keyed to the roller shaft 14. The roller is therefore driven at reduced speed by the motor'through the gearing just described.

Means for actuating the shoe by power of the motor comprises a cam device op'erably connected to rock the shoe shaft 20 and having connection with the roller driving mechanism through a clutch having an automatic tripping device. As shown herein, this mechanism includes a cam 50, rigidly mounted between guide plates 51 and 52 to form a unitary structure pinned or otherwise secured on the shaft 39'to rotate therewith. A yoke 53-straddles this cam and has a cross bar 54 integral therewith adapted to ride between the guide plates 51 and 52 in bearing engage- By means of this mechanism the tension of the shoe on the roller may be adjusted as will hereinafter ap ear.

As seen in ig. 4, the cam 50 is arranged toraise the yoke 53, link 56 and lever arm 57 gear.

when said cam is in upright position. In this position of the parts the shoe is rocked with the shaft 20 into operative engagement with the roller. as shown in Fig; 1. When the cam is rotated downwardly, the shoe is released from its engagement so that it may fall rearwardly from-the roller, as for instance, by gravity. The cam 50 and its associated plates 51 and 52 are pinned to the shaft 39 as already described. A sliding clutch member is feathered on the shaft intermediate the cam and the worm gear-wheel 38 as best shown in i Fig. 5. This clutch member is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed clutch jaws 66, 66 adapted to have re istering engagement in coacting sockets 67, 6 formed in the face of the worm gear 38. The clutch member is shifted by means of the yoke 70 mounted on a rocking shaft 71 having bearing in a support 72 in the lower wall of the casing and extending upwardly-through the upper wall and having a trip lever 73 extending forwardly therefrom in position to be readily manipulated by the operator. By means of this shifting mechanism just described, the sliding clutch 65 may be moved into engaging position with the worm gear 38 when the clutch jaws 66, 66 are in proper registering position with the recesses 67 67 in said worm I also provide a cam member 75 carried by the worm 38 and extending from the face thereof in position to engage a lug76 carried by the shifter yoke 70. This cam member 75 and/the lug 76 on theyokeare arranged to'coact so that the clutch. member 65 will be disengaged automatically each time the lug 7 5 passes the yoke. The lug 75 is also positioned so that the jaws 66, 66 cannot be engaged in the recesses'67, 67 when the cam foe member 75 engages the lug 76. Consequentlyin the arrangement described, it will be observed that the cluteh 65 can .pnly be shifted into operative engagement with the wormgear 38 in one relative position of the parts,

namely, when the jaws 66, 66 register with the recesses 67, 67 and when the cam member 75 is diametrically opposite the lug 76 on the shifter yoke 70.

The operation of the mechanism; just described is as follows: If the shoe 12 is disengaged from the roller 13 and it is desired to engage it, the hand lever 73 is pressed in a direction tending to engage the clutch member 65 with the worm wheel 38. As already described, there is only one relative position of the parts in which the clutch may become fully engaged to rotate the cam 50, and when the worm 38 is rotated to this position the clutch member 65 becomes engaged therewith and the cam is rotated into position to engage and lift the bearing arm 54 connected with the yoke 53 and thus swing the shoe into engaging position with the roller by means of the connecting link 56, lever arm 57 and shaft 20. j The. parts are so arranged that the cam 75 comes into engagement with the lug 76 on the shifter yoke .70 at the instant the cam 50 reaches its uppermost position as shown in Fig. 4. The cam 75, therefore, throws the shifter yoke 70 together with the sliding clutch member 55 outwardly and away from driving engagement with the worm gear 38, thus discontinuing the rotation of the cam 50 which will then maintain the shoe in coacting engagement with the roller until suchtime as it is positively disengaged. The process of disengaging the shoe is the reverse of that already described. The trip lever 7 3 is again pressed by the operator in the direction to engage the clutch 65 with the worm 38 when they reach proper registering position. The

the rotation of the cam until such time as it is again desired to repeat the cycle of ac tuating the shoe. It will now be seen that the cam is intermittently operated under control of the trip lever 73 so as to be rotated.

through an arc of 180 degrees each time the.

clutch 65 is engaged, and thus alternately lock and unlock the shoe in coacting engagement with the'roller.

When the parts are in pgsition to hold the shoe in engaged relation with the roller, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, it willfbe observed that the shoe is maintained under tension of the s ring 58. Thetension of the shoe may be varied-by adjusting the nut 61 on the shank 59 so as to increase or decrease the maximum pressure of the shoe on the roller as desire The roller is wholly supported at onejend leaving the opposite end free and un'ob'g structed so that material may extend beyond the free end, thus making it" possible to accommodate pieces of much greater width than the len h of the roller. and shoe. In order to equa ize the pressure of the shoe on the roller owing to the construction just described, I find it preferable to arran e the shoe and roller s11 htly out of parallelism with each other, am? converging toward their outer ends so that when in engaged position, with material therebetween, the pressure is substantially equalized throughout the length g of the roller.

Material is re-ferably introduced at the top of the ro er, and for this purpose a shelf or j'board '62 is provided in tangential alignment with the top of the roller and supported on the gear housing 10.

sAlthough the machine is normally supported in the casing supports 30, 31 and auxiliary leg or bracket 33, on the end of shoe shaft 20, it will be manifest from Figure 2 that the entire machine may be tipped upwardly and supported on the outer end face 10 of gear housing 10, when the machine is not in use.-

Although I have illustrated and described one particular embodiment of my invention,

it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but tnat various changes and modifications may, be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an ironing machine, a coacting roller and shoe, one of said members having supporting means at one end only thereof, said roller and shoe being normally arranged non-parallel with each other and convergmg toward the unsupported endof said member whereby pressure is substantially equalized throughout the length of said shoe and roller when the latter are in operative engagement with work therebetween.

2. In an ironing machine, a roller and a coacting shoe, a motor, reduction mechanism interposed between said motor and roller for driving the latter, a lever connected with said shoe for rocking the latter towardand away from said roller, a rotating cam for actuating saidlever, a sliding clutch member co-axial with said cam and having detachable engagement with said gear reduction mechamsm for driving said cam, means permitting engagement of said clutch member in a pre-V determined relative position of said' cam and reduction mechanism, and means automatically disengaging said clutch member after said cam has been rotated through a predetermined arc.

3. In an ironing machine, a frame, a roller, a shoe pivotally supported for rocking move- .ment toward and away from said roller, a

motor for rotatingl said roller, .a lever cone oe for rocking .the same,

a cam connected with said lever andoperative in one positipn to engage said shoe with 4 sa d roller and an another position to release said clutch members eing co-axial with said cam and means for automatically disengagving by said clutch members in either one of the two mentioned operative positions of said cam.

f1. In an ironing machine, a frame, a roller rotatably supported at one end in said frame, a motor carriedby said frame and operatively cdnnected with said roller, a shoe carried by a shaft pivotally supported at one end in said frame whereby said shoe maybe moved toward and away from said roller, supporting members connected with said frame at one end of said shoe and roller, and an auxiliary supporting member rotatably carried on said shaft at the opposite end of said shoe and roller and independent of said first named supporting members.

5. In an ironing machme' of the portable type, a roller and coacting shoe, a casing at one ,end of said roller havin f operative mechanism for said shoe and rol er and supporting adjacent ends of said roller and shoe, said casing having supporting means forming a base closely adjacent said roller and shoe for supporting said machine with the'roller substantially parallel with the surface upon which said machine rests, said casing also havin supporting means on its outside face where y the machine may be bodily tipped upwardly along the lower outside margin of said casing, and supported in u right position with said roller substantial y perpendicular to the surface upon which the machine rests.

6. In an ironing machine of the portable type, a roller and coactingshoe, a casing at one end of said roller having operative mechanism for said shoe and roller and havin means supporting adjacent ends of said .ro ler and shoe, anauxiliar support connected to said shoe'adjacent t e unsupported end of said roller, said casing supporting means and auxiliary su port formin a base closely adjacent said'ro ler and shoe or supporting said machine with the roller substan tially parallel with the surface upon which 4 said machine rests, said casing a so having supporting means on its outside face whereby the machine may be bodily tipped upwardly along the lower outside margin o'fsaid casing, and supported in upright position with v said shoe toward and away from said roller disposed beneath the axis of said roller, a frame at one end of said roller having operating mechanism for said roller and shaft, respectively, and having means forming a support for said roller and shaft at their adJacent ends, and an auxiliary support on said shaft remote from said frame whereby the weight of said roller and shoe is partially carried by said shaft and auxiliary support.

Signed at Chicago this 21 day of July,

JAMES GORDON. 

